


Christmas Coffee

by orphan_account



Series: Sheriarty Christmas Oneshots [7]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Christmas, Fluff, M/M, Sharing a Bed, Snow, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2016-12-20
Packaged: 2018-09-10 17:13:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8925529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Sherlock could get lost in his mind palace for hours.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This is part seven of a Sheriarty Advent/Christmas thing I'm doing, which involves me writing a short oneshot every day about a different prompt (a list of prompts can be found on my tumblr, Mistocho).
> 
> I doubt I'm going to complete these in time, but I can try.
> 
> Prompt: Christmas coffee shop AU
> 
> This one is probably my favourite out of all the ones I've written for this series; I hope you enjoy it!

Jim owned a coffee shop. He rarely worked there as a barista, hiring people to run the shop, but he owned it nonetheless. He lived in the flat above. He knew no one would ever suspect criminal mastermind Jim Moriarty to be living in a small cosy flat above an equally cosy coffee shop. Other than that, it was a surprisingly good way to get clients.

Today was Christmas day, and all those who usually worked in the shop were on holiday so they would be able to spend time with friends and family, of which Jim had neither. But he wasn’t lonely, of course; what type of criminal genius gets lonely? None. So he obviously isn’t lonely. That would be ridiculous. (He told himself that every night, lying in bed and staring at the stars painted on his ceiling.) Since everyone was away, he was tasked with managing everything in the shop by himself. He didn’t expect many customers though, since it was Christmas.

His expectations were, as always, right. Only a couple of people came in, and quickly left with their drinks. It was around 4pm when a tall man with a mop of dark curls entered the shop. Unlike the other customers, he wasn’t rushing to get a coffee.

“I’ll have a cappuccino,” he said in a deep voice. Jim had deduced a little about the man, including the fact he was socially awkward, a genius, and gay. _We have a lot in common, don’t we? ___

__“To drink here or to go?”_ _

__“Here’s fine.”_ _

__“That’s two pounds.” The customer handed over a five pound note and Jim quickly returned change. “You can go and take a seat over there; I’ll bring your coffee over in a minute. I'm Jim, by the way.” Jim gestured to the seats on the other side of the shop as he said it. In that area, there were a few tables with chairs, as well as a small booth and a couple of armchairs around a fireplace. The fire was lit, bathing the room in flickering light._ _

__The man sat in an armchair which was beside a small coffee table. He took off his coat and scarf, putting them on the table beside him. He put his hands together after sitting down, as if in prayer, and rested his fingertips against his chin. He closed his enchanting eyes and ceased all movement, except his chest rising from slow, steady breathing._ _

__After a few minutes, Jim brought over a steaming mug of coffee and placed it down on the small table, before taking the man’s coat and scarf to hang up. A bee drawn using chocolate power sat on top of the frothy milk (Jim didn’t know why he chose a bee, but it just felt like the right thing to do.)_ _

__He went back to the counter, picking up his phone to continue the book he was reading, which was all about astronomy. Whilst reading, he made occasional glances over to his customer in the armchair._ _

__After half an hour of no movement from the man, Jim had become a tad worried. He didn’t really care about the person, but if they had a stroke, died, etcetera, in his shop, there would probably be an investigation which would leave a mark on his otherwise spotless record, carefully maintained over years of crime._ _

__Jim wandered over to the man. He didn’t bother waving his hand in front of his face- his eyes were closed, after all- but did click his fingers a few times. There was no reaction. Since he was still breathing regularly, too quickly to be asleep but too slowly to be awake, Jim summarised the man was in some kind of meditative state. He left him sitting there, but picked up his stone cold coffee and brought it away. He made another coffee and brought it over to him. It would be bad for business, but Jim had enough money to cover the cost; crime does pay, after all._ _

__Jim continued to check if the man was still alive and bring him more coffee for the next six hours. Though the shop had closed an hour ago, he decided to let the man stay for a while. He just looked so… peaceful. There were no wrinkles or lines marring the angelic face in its calm state, and it was beautiful. At one point, Jim had sat down on a plush armchair opposite him, deftly typing on his laptop. He often paused to just look up at the man and study his face, eyes running over long eyelashes and cupid bow lips. Just as he was staring at said eyelashes, the man’s eyes opened. They were piercing ice blue, with some flecks of silver._ _

__“You have a job other than a barista, you’re gay and you’re a genius. Why’s it dark?” the man blurted, turning his head to look out of the window as he did._ _

__“You just deduced all that, and you can’t figure out why it’s dark outside?”_ _

__“I was here for several hours and it’s become night time, I’m not an idiot.” He rolled his eyes at the last part._ _

__“Good. Anyway, it’s a few minutes past ten. The shop closed two hours ago.” He picked up his coffee and took a sip._ _

__“You replaced my coffee, it seems.”_ _

__“Yes. But to the matter at hand; the shop closed two hours ago, and have you taken a look outside?” He turned, curls bouncing, to look out the window. “It’s snowing heavily and the streets are icy; there won’t be any taxis, and you’re not the type to take the bus or the tube unless there is no other option. You’re not from very close, so you can’t just walk.”_ _

__“What are you suggesting?”_ _

__“You could sleep here.” Jim felt like an idiot immediately after the words left his lips. Why was he offering a stranger stay in his home? _You don’t even know his name. _____

____“Why are you offering?”_ _ _ _

____“I don’t know. You intrigue me, I guess.” Jim felt incredibly awkward_ _ _ _

____“Okay. I suppose I shall stay. My name is Sherlock, by the way.” He quickly drank the rest of the coffee, before standing up. “So where should I go?” Jim stood up too, tucking his laptop under his arm._ _ _ _

____“Follow me.” He walked behind the counter, Sherlock behind him, to a plain wooden door with a lock. He grabbed his coat and scarf off of the hook, before Jim reached in his pockets and pulled out a set of keys. He unlocked the door with a soft clunk. He walked up the dark stairs and turned on a light as he reached the top. He made a ‘come hither’ gesture and walked into the living area._ _ _ _

____The room mostly had warm colours, with lots of wooden furniture. The carpet was red with an intricate pattern, and there was a large bookcase on one of the walls._ _ _ _

____“Through there is the guest room,” Jim said, gesturing to a door on their left, “the bathrooms through the door next to the guest room, the kitchen is over to your right, and my room is through that door straight ahead of us, if you need me for anything. Do you need food?”_ _ _ _

____“I’m fine, thanks. I’ll see you later,” Sherlock said, walking into the guest room._ _ _ _

____The room was less bland than the majority of guest rooms. Unlike the living room, it was mostly cool colours. The bedspread was a deep purple, and the walls were navy. The furniture was all a light shade of brown, and there was a small bookcase. The bookcase had a variety of classics, such as Shakespeare and Dickens, unlike the bookcase in the living room; this was filled with books on math and astronomy. On the wall there was a poster showing the phases of the moon._ _ _ _

____Sherlock hung his coat on a hook on the door, before taking off his blazer. He draped this over the end of the bed, before taking off his shoes. He laid down on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to think._ _ _ _

____He realised he must have fallen asleep whilst in his mind palace upon awakening. He reached inside his blazer and pulled out his phone. 03:17 it read. Sherlock let out a sigh, getting out of the bed. He knew he wouldn’t fall back to sleep, being an insomniac who required little rest, and walked through into the living room as quietly as he could. It was dark, but he easily made his way across the room. He decided to go to the window and look outside._ _ _ _

____Through the misty glass he could see snowflakes softly drifting down to the ground. There were lots of Christmas lights twinkling on other buildings, and he realised how few decorations there were upstairs in the flat compared to the coffee shop downstairs. It was a very calm time; there was almost no noise, except for the faint rumbling of cars. Sherlock was rarely ever at peace, but at that moment he felt surprisingly… content. He was relaxing in the near silence when he heard a quiet, weak noise._ _ _ _

____“No…” Sherlock’s head whipped around to face the door to Jim’s room. _Is that Jim? _“No, please don’t… stop… I’m sorry! …stop, please stop…” At this point he was certain it was him. _Is he okay? _______ _ _

________Sherlock crept over to the door and opened the door knob with a quiet click. He saw Jim lying in his bed, shaking. He was covered in sweat and was breathing quickly, whilst muttering soft ‘no’s and ‘stop’s. _He’s having a nightmare then. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________“Help! Please stop!” he shouted, and began writhing on the bed, face looking pained. _I should wake him up, quickly but calmly. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Jim? Jim, can you hear me?” There was no reaction from him. “Jim!” he said slightly louder, “Can you hear me?” This time, Jim’s movements seemed to become less violent, though his face was still in agony. Sherlock drew closer to the bed. He reached out his hands and gently nudged Jim’s side. “Wake up, Jim; you’re having a nightmare.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Please stop- oh. Sherlock… it was a dream.” The fear visibly faded from his dark eyes._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Are you okay?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Yes, of course. It was just a nightmare, nothing important.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“I’m too observant to be fooled by that; you were having a flashback in a dream, most likely. You aren’t okay, so do you want to talk about it?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Not particularly. I didn’t have a pretty childhood, that’s all you really need to know. You can go,”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Alright,” Sherlock began to walk away, when he heard something._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________“Stay… please,” Jim whispered. He didn’t know why, but he went to the bed and got in beside Jim. _What am I doing? I’d never normally do this, _ran through both of their minds.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________They had both fallen asleep within minutes, faster than they had for years. They slept with peaceful faces and calm dreams._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________Sherlock woke up first. He felt something large and warm in his arms. Oh my gosh, I’m spooning him. Sherlock began to pull his arms away, face turning red, when Jim let out a high pitched whine of complaint from the back of his throat. Sherlock put his arm back, sighing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_______________I can’t really complain; it’s rather comfortable. ____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________Thirty minutes later, Jim woke up. He opened bleary eyes, lying still for a second, before jolting sideways._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Sherlock?” he exclaimed._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Good morning,” he replied. “Comfortable, are you?” Jim lazily grinned up at Sherlock, before snickering._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Yeah. Did you sleep well? I did; you were like a big teddy bear.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Oh, shut up. But I did sleep well,” he said warmly. They both began to get up, Jim opening his wardrobe and throwing a dressing gown to Sherlock, whilst putting one on himself._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________________“Tea?” Jim asked. Sherlock nodded in response. They walked through to the kitchen. He began to make tea, opening his kitchen cupboard and getting out the teabags, as he did every morning. _We’re acting so domestic; it's strange, I’m never like this with anyone. _“So Sherlock… what do you do?”___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“I’m a consulting detective; the only one in the world.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Interesting. What cases have you worked on recently?” Jim carried on making the tea, as Sherlock took a seat by the table._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

__________________“Mostly boring murders, except one case. It was a triple locked room murder from a week ago. We caught the people who committed the murder, but someone was behind it. His name is Moriarty,” Jim froze for a second as he stirred sugar into his tea, “and I must admit that his work is _incredible _. He makes ingenious plans, which I truly admire.” He let out a breath of relief at Sherlock’s words.___ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

____________________“That sounds delightful… except for the murder part. Anyway Sherlock,” he handed the man in question his mug of tea, “you seem wonderfully extraordinary. So once you leave later today, do you want to meet again?” _This is stupid, but… he is interesting. _____ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“Okay, I’d like to get to know you, honestly. Do you want to meet in the coffee shop tomorrow?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________“That sounds great. Here’s my phone number.” Jim passed a small piece of paper with his number scrawled on it to the detective, and smirked. “I’m looking forward to next time,”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

______________________The next day they met in Jim’s coffee shop, and they ended up how they had the previous night; sharing a bed and sharing loving smiles._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Have a nice day.


End file.
